Following the dismissal of their suit against Southern Regional Health System, Inc. “SRMS”, Janie Satterfield, James Ronnie, and Nelson and Francis Nelson appeal, contending that the trial court erred in dismissing their claims for 1 breach of contract, 2 violation of the Georgia Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act, 3 unjust enrichment, 4 breach of fiduciary duty, and 5 declaratory and injunctive relief.1 As appellants concede in their brief, this case is substantially similar to others pending with this Court and three recently decided by this court, Cox v. Athens Regional Med. Center ,2 Pitts v. Phoebe Putney Mem. Hosp. ,3 and Morrell v. Wellstar Health System .4 As in those cases, appellants’ claims here arise from their allegation that SRMS, which operates a non-profit hospital, charges uninsured patients more than it charges patients covered by insurance or Medicare or Medicaid. For the reasons that follow, we affirm. 1. Appellants’ breach of contract claim stems from an admission form they signed upon seeking medical treatment at SRMS. The form states, in relevant part: For and in consideration of the goods and services rendered and to be rendered by or through the Hospital and treating physicians, the undersigned hereby guarantees payment of all fees and charges incurred by and for the patient from the date of this/these Hospital encounters. Final billing will be rendered upon confirmed determination of all charges incurred, less payments / adjustments, if any, actually received. The undersigned agrees to make such payment in full immediately upon receipt of such billing. As we explained in Cox ,
Under OCGA § 31-7-11 a, hospitals must make available to the public, upon request, certain pricing information, such as the charge for patient care or admission kits, emergency room charges, charges for specific routine and special tests such as chest x-rays and head CAT scans, the average total charges per patient day, the daily room rate of a hospital room, and operating and recovery room charges. The pricing information “shall be composed in a simple clear fashion so as to enable consumers to compare hospital charges and make cost-effective decisions in the purchase of hospital services.” Id. Cox , supra, __Ga. App. at__.
